ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. squash — the sport
  3. key — the most important part
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. snap — to click
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. shower — to wash
  11. shower — rain
  12. wound — an injury
  13. key — in music
  14. chair — a leader
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. perch — the fish
  20. key — for a lock
  21. squash — to crush
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. bat — the animal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com